It once looked like Ferrari might cease to exist and Ford was ready to step in and rescue it

Ferrari and Ford are two of the most legendary car brands on the face of the Earth.

The Italian and American marques are symbols of both the European and American car industries.

What you might not know is that it once looked like Ferrari might cease to exist.

And Ford proposed an offer to step in and rescue it, potentially owning its rival brand.

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It’s hard to believe, but Ferrari once looked like it might go under..

If you’ve ever seen the fantastic Ford vs Ferrari film, then you might know what we’re talking about.

By the early 1960s, the Italian marque was in serious financial difficulty – and it almost forced the company into closure.

Despite the exceptional success of the Scuderia Ferrari racing team, the road-going division wasn’t going well.

Unlike its Italian counterpart, Ford was enjoying an excellent start to the 1960s.

It’s now-legendary Mustang was already in the development process, and it would soon change the game.

But it needed help appealing to younger buyers.

Blue Oval CEO Henry Ford II got wind of the financial difficulties at the European company – and he saw an opportunity.

The chance to incorporate the supercar range under the Blue Oval badge was simply too good to pass up.

So, in 1963, Henry Ford II sent his top delegation to Italy to work on a takeover deal.

General Manager and Vice President Lee Iacocca led the delegation to Italy.

Ford II tasked his right-hand man, Don Frey, with leading negotiations directly with Enzo Ferrari.

Meetings held throughout 1963 – then Enzo Ferrari walks away

A series of highly secret meetings took place throughout the first few months of 1963.

Disaster struck in May 1963, however, when negotiations fell apart – and Enzo walked away from the deal.

So, why did the deal so suddenly fall apart – and what led Enzo to completely shut down negotiations?

The single biggest reason concerned the racing division.

As you probably know by now, Scuderia Ferrari was literally Enzo’s life’s work.

The legendary brand founder made little secret of the fact that racing was his passion.

And the marque had always been adamant that the car division only existed to fund the racing division.

Enzo Ferrari wanted to keep control of the racing team, and allow external investors to work on boosting the road car element.

The Ford delegation had been clear that it wanted full control over the racing division – as the American maker had motorsport ambitions of its own.

Enzo had always been all too happy to outsource the car division’s production to an investor.

But he would never allow someone else to control the racing division.

As a result, he walked away from the deal entirely, with Fiat eventually purchasing a 50 percent stake in his brand in 1969.

Upon hearing the news of the failed deal, Henry Ford II wasn’t exactly thrilled.

He was, in fact, apoplectic at the time and money that had been wasted putting the deal together.

The Blue Oval brand would ultimately have the last laugh on the track, however, famously dominating Le Mans.

It would secure its legendary 1-2-3 finish at the 1966 Le Mans race, with the effort led by Ken Miles.

Ford would dominate Le Mans three years straight, from 1966 to 1969.

Of course, the two brands continue to do battle to this day.